Chapter 431

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Let’s Meet Up

(Tak.u.mi~? Can you hear me~?)

“Oh, Kaiser?”

“”Kaiser!””

As we finished conquering the Dungeon of Scorching Heat and were resting in the town of Gista, we received a telepathic message from Kaiser. Upon realizing that Kaiser had contacted me from my response, Allen and Elena showed excited expressions.

(Kaiser, I can hear you. Could it be that you’d like to meet up?)

(Umu, I’ve finished my immediate business, so I’d like to meet up for sure.)

(I see. Well, we’re currently at an inn in a certain town~ If we summon you here… will there be any light or something?)

(Ah~… I wonder about that?)

Summoning was different from calling forth a contracted beast from within the shadow, so I had a hunch that there might be some light emitted or something similar.

“… Now then, what should we do?”

“”Go to the sea~!””

“N? You want to go to the sea?”

“”Yeah, wanna go! And wanna show to Radian, too!””

“I see.”

As I pondered what to do, Allen and Elena expressed their desire to go to the sea. While they hadn’t been to the sea for a while, it seemed they wanted to show it to Radian too.

(Kaiser, can you wait until tomorrow morning? We’re leaving the town in the morning, so we can meet up then, okay?)

(Umu, I can wait until that time. I’ll be prepared and waiting, so give me a call.)

(Alright, see you tomorrow then.)

And so, the next morning, we left Gista, riding on the backs of Joule and Feat, heading straight south toward the sea. Once we reached a secluded spot, I called Kaiser and attempted the summoning.

“Ohh~ Tak.u.mi, it worked.”

We were able to successfully summon Kaiser in humanoid form. However…

“… Yesterday, it was a good call not to try this in the middle of the town.”

(It produced quite a flashy light, didn’t it?)

As Joule pointed out, it did emit a substantial amount of light. Moreover, it was that bright even in broad daylight, so if we had tried it in our inn’s room in the evening… it would have surely caused a commotion.

“I’m glad we know that now.”

We had planned to go to the sea and interact with Kaiser there, but we wanted to try summoning to see how it was done. It was a good decision to try it out.

“Kids, just as promised, I’ve prepared a souvenir for you.”

“”Dragon!?””

“Huh!?”

“Umu, a Blue Dragon. I just obtained it yesterday, so I’m sure the freshness is not an issue.”

As I stood in shock, Kaiser took out the corpse of a Blue Dragon. It was a snake-like dragon with blue scales, appearing to be around twenty meters long. It was roughly the size of the Evil Viper, or perhaps slightly larger.

“”((((((Wow~!))))))””

Even though this one was supposed to be a… lowly individual among dragons, I didn’t think he’d really hunt a dragon as a souvenir.

“”Kaiser, thank you!””

“Umu, umu, this much is no problem.”

Kaiser, while puffing out his chest in response to the children’s grat.i.tude, seemed a little bashful.

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“Still… it’s quite fresh, isn’t it? Feels like it was just defeated.”

“Umu, it’s probably because of this.”

“That! Kaiser, that must be a Magic Ring, right?”

“Indeed. I found it when I searched the lair. This one seemed to be the most functional, and it slowed down time considerably. With this, I can bring back some of Tak.u.mi’s cooking when I return!”

Finding a Magic Ring hidden in the Dragon’s lair is quite extraordinary. And the fact that he could bring back my cooking with it was both a reason for joy and a source of bewilderment for me.

“I brought various other good things as well.”

Kaiser took out jewelry and gems from the Magic Ring and scattered them on the ground.

“Whoa~ are these all magic accessories?”

“I brought items that seemed to have good functionality, so feel free to use them.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a souvenir for you, Tak.u.mi.”

“N?”

“The dragon is a gift for the kids, and these are for you, Tak.u.mi.”

“What!?”

Kaiser’s words left me speechless once again.

“No, no, no! These are all really great items, you know!”

“They were just lying around in the lair. Don’t worry about it.”

“I do worry!”

I guess this is how it feels to be on the receiving end of a gift!

(Oniichan, are there any Magic Ring among these?)

“Umu, there is more. They are inferior to the one I’m using, but I think there were two of them. Let’s see… it was this one and this one, I believe.”

(I thought so! Since you said earlier that you were using the one with the best functionality, I suspected there was more. Hey, Kaiser, is it okay for us to use them?)

“Of course, it is.”

The conversation between Kaiser and Joule continued.

Rather, I couldn’t help but be amazed that Kaiser had three Magic Rings! Impressive!

(By the way, how is their functionality?)

“This one can store a considerable amount, but it only slightly slows down time. This one here slows time down about as much as mine, but has a smaller capacity.”

(Oh, that’s still quite a useful function—Oniichan, is it okay if we let Feat and Vector carry these?)

“… Sure. Is it okay with you, Joule?”

(We just have to find another one for me, so it’s fine. Vector can have the one with more capacity, and Feat can have the one that slows down time more, right?)

Joule’s suggestion made Vector ecstatic, and Feat seemed pleased, albeit more reserved. And once again, the conversation naturally progressed.

(Oh, but Vector, make sure to keep the Magic Ring empty all the time. Anything you obtain, like monsters or fruit, give it to Oniichan right away.)

(Yeah! I promise! With this, even if I collect a lot of souvenirs, I can bring them back!)

(If even one spoiled item comes out of your Magic Ring… it’ll be confiscated, okay?)

(I-I got it!)

Joule spoke in a particularly low voice and warned Vector to faithfully keep the promise.

I had hesitated about letting Vector carry the Magic Ring, but I thought it should be fine to try.

“Well… Kaiser, we will gratefully accept the Magic Rings.”

“Not just the Magic Ring but anything else as well, please use them as you see fit. If you don’t take them, I’ll just leave them here.”

“… I’ll gratefully accept them.”

… I was subtly threatened.

I wonder if Wald-san felt this way too~ Wald-san, I’m really sorry.

But I probably won’t change in the future, so I hope you’ll understand~

“Oh, right. Kaiser, this is Radian, a new addition to our family. Radian, this is Kaiser. He’s a member of our family. Right now, he’s in human form, but he’s a dragon called a Leviathan.”

“Oh, a Gryphon child, huh! Tak.u.mi, you always bring interesting beings into your family~ I’m Kaiser. If you ever need help, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Kaiser Onii~chan? Ojii~chan?”

“Mumu? That’s a tricky question! Based on my current appearance, I’d say I’m a little older than Tak.u.mi, so ‘Oniichan’ should be fine. But in terms of age, ‘Ojiichan’’ maybe?—Tak.u.mi, which one is it?”

“No, no, no! ‘Ojiichan’ is out of the question!—Radian, call him ‘Oniichan’!”

(N? Alright~)

I know the cause! Matthias introduced himself to Radian with “I’m your Ojiichan~”! And similarly, Rebecca addressed herself as “I am your Obaachan~”

… I don’t think there will be many opportunities for Radian to directly talk to middle-aged women, but I’ll make sure Radian doesn’t accidentally call one “Obaachan.”

“… I’m a little tired.”

Despite the day having just begun, I was feeling a bit worn out.